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   accessteacher Teacher
   High School - 10th Grade

   eNotes Editor

   In this scene we see that although Petruccio has won Katarina's hand, his "taming" of her is far from over. This scene is incredibly amusing, as we join the onlookers of this wedding cringing in embarrassment at Petruccio's appearance, lateness and behaviour. We can see that Petruccio just doesn't want a dowry - he wants a wife that is "tamed". His actions serve to rob Katarina of any sort of dignity whatsoever on her wedding day, whilst overcoming her resistance.

   What is important to ask though is the amount of agency that Katarina has in this scene. We know that before she happily resisted any suitors through a combination of violence and her quick tongue. Yet here, she seems to be cowed by Petruccio's unyielding stance, and accepts everything without putting up too much of a fight. Petruccio seems to be exaggeratedly misogynistic, with his famous comment about Katarina: "She is my goods, my chattels. She is my house..." However, reading this more deeply it is clear that Petruccio is merely being ironic - this is an adopted "guise", just like his ridiculous costume, to "tame" Katarina and also poke fun at the guests.

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   http://www.enotes.com/taming/act-iii-scenes-1-2-summary-a...

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   Posted by accessteacher on Sunday April 19, 2009 at 11:09 AM